LONDON - The French defense procurement agency, DGA, has inked a contract with Dassault for the mid-life upgrade of 55 of the French Air Force's 71-unit Mirage 2000D fighter fleet. Five of the Mirage 2000Ds are currently deployed to a forward operating base in Jordan where they are used in air-to-ground and intelligence-gathering missions in support of France' Operation Chammal against Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria.
Under France's most recent Defense White Paper (released in 2013) the future Force 2025 outline indicated a requirement for 225 total combat aircraft. To supplement the combat aircraft wing (which primarily consists of the newer-generation Dassault Rafale) so that it reaches the White Paper-outlined requirement of 225 fighters by 2019, the Defense Ministry will retain some Mirage 2000-5s and upgraded Mirage 2000Ds.
The latest modernization effort will extend the Mirage 2000Ds service lives beyond 2030 and will involve avionics upgrades, the addition of an air-to-ground cannon and the replace of the Matra/Magic short-range air-to-air missiles currently equipping the fighter with the MBDA Mica.
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